Harry Butler

Henry "Harry" Butler was an Anglo-Irish banker during the early 20th century. The son of businessman Edward Butler and the brother of Irish Citizen Army member Elizabeth Butler, Butler went from being a wastrel and a unionist to being a financial backer of the IRA during the Irish War of Independence.

Biography
Henry Butler was born in Dublin, County Dublin, Ireland, the son of Edward Butler and Dolly Mulcahy, the nephew of Father Richard Mulcahy, and the brother of Elizabeth Butler. Harry came from a wealthy Anglo-Irish banking family, and he was raised in his father's Protestant faith. Harry was spoiled as a child, and he grew up as a debaucherer, drinker, cynic, and dandy who wasted all of his money on drinks and women and frequently fell into debt. Unlike his sister, a devout socialist, Butler was a staunch unionist like his father and his friend George Wilson. During the 1916 Easter Rising, Harry instead focused on paying off his debts to his loanshark, as well as continuing to womanize. On his father's death in May, he became the new head of the household and the bank, and his mother forced him to grow up and change.

By 1920, Butler had become a very wealthy businessman and was married to Constance Butler, who was an Irish republican supporter. Michael Collins and other IRA leaders sought the financial support of Butler's bank during the Irish War of Independence, and Constance invited them to parties at Butler's mansion.